Unlocking Optimal Health: The Surprising Benefits of Keto Nutrition

Jan 31, 2024

Dr. Ken Berry calls it a “Proper Human Diet.” Dr. Anthony Chaffee calls it “species specific,” in the same way a cat is a carnivore and a hippo is an herbivore. Nutritionists, dietitians and nutrition coaches may call it an elimination diet. Some say this is the “ancestral diet” and that humans ate this way for millions of years throughout history. Some call it the Atkins Diet.

Whatever you want to call it, ketogenic diets, including the carnivore diet, are making a strong comeback. Not only have I found that this is the most appropriate style of eating for most people, there are some very clear advantages to eating this way.

The ketogenic diet (keto) was first used in a clinical setting for the treatment of drug resistant epilepsy beginning in 1921. Patients found that their seizures subsided while on a keto diet. Some of you may be familiar with the Meryl Streep movie First Do No Harm that depicts this controversial new treatment. 

Image: Movie cover, taken from Google

Besides inhibiting the effects of epilepsy, there are some seriously surprising benefits of keto! Before we dive in it’s important to know that keto diets are safe for both the short term and as a lifelong nutrition strategy. In fact the longer you remain in ketosis, or on keto, the better; the greater the chance that you’ll begin to experience some of these results yourself. 

Let's start with a quickie biology lesson and define ketogenic diets.

Keto, ketovore and carnivore are high fat, moderate protein, and low to no carbohydrate nutrition strategies. A classic keto macro ratio is 70% fat, 30% protein with 10% or less of the dietary intake coming from carbs. 

Remember that carbohydrates are not essential. If the body needs sugar it can make it through a process called gluconeogenesis. This literally means the creation (genesis) of new (neo) sugar (gluco) from non-sugar sources like fats and protein. In contrast, essential nutrients are those nutrients that the body cannot make in significant quantities and must be obtained through the diet. Certain types of proteins (amino acids like leucine), fats (like omega 3 and 6), vitamins (like B12) and minerals (like calcium) are essential. When in ketosis the body chemistry and the internal environment is completely different than a body running on sugar. The body is no longer using, or needing, sugar for energy and begins to rely on fat and ketones, or ketone bodies. The body becomes fat adapted. The mere presence of ketones provides an amazing advantage in terms of health and fitness. 

Before we move on, take a moment now to be thankful that your body is, in fact, so adaptable. I always express how amazing the human body is in the ways in which it can adapt and keep us alive. It truly is a miracle. 

Here is a list of benefits of ketogenic nutrition strategies that I have compiled from a number of resources including lectures, published papers, and youtube videos, as well as my personal experiences and those of my clients, friends and family. Many of these results are anecdotal. 

Let’s dive in! 

  • Improved gut health, leaky gut heals due to decreased inflammation. Carnivore is great for those with IBS, IBD, Chron’s, etc

  • Increases brain function; lack of brain fog

    • 75-80% of fuel for brain comes from ketones (preferential form of energy), other portion coming from glucose (gluconeogenesis)

    • Inhibits brain cell’s ability to accept glutamate (an excitatory neurotransmitter) - helps keeps you calm

  • Ketone bodies inhibit oxidative stress (which plays a role in aging) and boosts the body’s natural antioxidant abilities

  • Hormones stabilize

    • Including sex hormones. PCOS is often referred to as Type 4 diabetes, in the low-carb community, classifying this disorder as a blood sugar issue. Dr. Ken Berry jokes that keto makes you fertile, and Dr. Kiltz makes his living off of this connection! (You’ll also hear Alzheimer’s referred to as Type 3 diabetes. A blood sugar issue.) 

  • Increased Fat burning

    • The body will begin burning more nutrient energy than the body actually requires. This “inefficiency” is called wasting. If you’re on keto and you test your breath or urine for ketones, that is a sign of wasting. Wasting is a major player in weight loss, as are the lungs.

  • Ketones make muscle cells healthier, more efficient and more viable

    • Increased cell viability - increased health and less likely to become damaged from stress, sugar or inflammation, or injured 

    • Ketones offer more energy, or power, per unit when combined with oxygen versus glucose

    • Ketones help increase mitochondria count in both muscle and brain cells. (Where my nerdy endurance athletes at?!) 

  • CVD risk decreases

  • Skin tags can get smaller or go completely away

  • Vision can improve, eye floaters decrease or go completely away

  • Anxiety and depression noticeably improve

  • Inflammation drastically decreases. Carnivore itself is the most non-inflammatory diet 

  • Blood pressure normalizes 

  • Blood sugar normalizes and therefore insulin levels

  • Joint pain decreases or goes away completely (RA/OA can be much more manageable)

  • Acne, Eczema or psoriasis clears up, or at least no new skin irritations develop

  • Fatty liver/organ tissue decreases, can go away completely

  • Kidney function can improve

There is no supplement, procedure or pill that can get you these results. Of course, none of these results are guaranteed. Everyone has different levels of metabolic health that will heal at different rates, but we know that on keto diets some degree of healing IS possible. So if you could experience a small fraction of what I have listed here, doesn’t that sound better than the alternative on a standard American diet? 

The more plant-based food items (and seed oils) that you remove from your regular intake the more likely it is that you’ll feel some of these results. The more consistent you are with keto or carnivore, the more likely it is that you’ll feel some of these results. 

When I heard that a carnivore nutrition strategy would “cure” my chronic Lyme, I knew that that single benefit would outweigh any “sacrifices" I'd be making along the way. 

What are you motivated to do? What is your WHY? How far are you willing to go for optimal health?